write_file_corruptionTier 1 · 70% confidence

ai-agents-write-file-corruptio-writefile-tool-generates-the-replacement-character-7cb41411

agent: ai_agents

When does this happen?

IF WriteFile tool generates the replacement character '�' (U+FFFD) when saving text files that contain non-ASCII or special characters, such as those produced during translation tasks.

How others solved it

THEN To avoid data corruption, ensure that the text to be written is correctly UTF-8 encoded before saving. As a temporary workaround, use the shell tool (e.g., `run_shell_command 'echo "content" > file.md'`) with explicit encoding handling. Monitor the gemini-cli repository for fixes addressing this encoding issue.

cat <<'EOF' | tee /tmp/system_prompt.md > /dev/null
You are a certified professional translator (EN➜ZH-TW)...
EOF
gemini -y
# Then prompt: translate, then 'save your translation to index.md'
# This leads to '�' in the output file.

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